“I’m amazed, Mei Chaofeng. In order to frame me, you even went to the extent of killing your closest aide, Plum Blossom Thirteen. Aren’t you afraid that your deeds would chill the hearts of your subordinates?” asked Zu An.

“How dare you slander me when you’re the one who murdered Plum Blossom Thirteen?!” Mei Chaofeng raged. “It’s a known fact in Brightmoon City that you had Plum Blossom Thirteen’s limbs broken just because he offended you!”

To be exact, Plum Blossom Thirteen’s limbs had been broken by Discipline Master Lu De and Chu Chuyan. However, these two had extraordinary backgrounds, and so Mei Chaofeng was reluctant to drag them into this matter. Thus, he neglected to elaborate on the exact details, choosing to focus on the fact that the incidents had happened under Zu An’s orders.

Zu An could see through Mei Chaofeng’s intentions, but he hadn’t wanted to drag his wife into this matter, so he didn’t expose them. “Like you’ve said, I was the one who had Plum Blossom Thirteen’s limbs broken back then. I already exacted my vengeance on him, so why would I bother killing him afterward?”

“That’s because Plum Blossom Thirteen is my strongest aide. You were afraid that you wouldn’t be a match for him once he recovered, so you decided to make a move in advance to eliminate him while he was still incapacitated!” said Mei Chaofeng.

As soon as those words were spoken, the friends and family of Plum Blossom Thirteen wailed indignantly and charged toward Zu An, forcing the guards lining the court to step in quickly to stop them.

“Silence!” Xie Yi smacked the wooden block on the table once more to bring order back to the courtroom.

“You must be kidding me. I’m able to defeat a fifth rank cultivator, but you’re telling me that I’m somehow afraid of a mere third rank cultivator?” replied Zu An.

“You were only able to defeat Yuan Wendong out of sheer luck. Everyone knows that. Besides, there’s concrete evidence to prove that you were the one who killed Plum Blossom Thirteen, so there’s no way you can talk your way out of this!” Mei Chaofeng scoffed.

“Oh? What evidence do you have?” asked Zu An curiously.

Mei Chaofeng bowed again to Xie Yi and the others before carrying on with his testimony. “Based on the autopsy, Plum Blossom Thirteen died by the academy’s Elementary Swordplay. I believe that City Lord Xie has already verified this matter personally.”

“You can say that every student in Brightmoon Academy knows the Elementary Swordplay. On what grounds are you insisting that Ah Zu is the murderer?” questioned Chu Zhongtian.

Mei Chaofeng waved his hand, and his subordinate immediately brought a sword over. “The murderer was found by one of our patrolling disciples as he was assassinating Plum Blossom Thirteen, and he was almost surrounded. As my disciples closed in on him, he fled in a hurry, and ended up leaving this sword behind.”

Chu Zhongtian’s eyes narrowed as he examined the sword more closely. He clearly recognized the weapon that Zu An had used in the dueling ring the day before.

Zu An shrugged calmly. “After the tournament yesterday, I casually tossed the sword over to one of the Chu clan’s servants and thought nothing of it afterward. It looks like you have managed to obtain it by bribing one of our servants.”

Chu Zhongtian’s face darkened. This was yet another clear indication that there was a spy in their Chu clan. There hadn’t been enough time for him and his wife to root out the spy the day before, and their failure had left an opening for their enemies to exploit.

Mei Chaofeng paid no heed to Zu An and carried on, “There were over a dozen people who witnessed your murder yesterday night. No matter how glib your tongue is, there’s no way you’re talking your way out of this!”

A group of people immediately rushed in and recounted what they had seen the night before.

Unable to stand it anymore, Chu Zhongtian slammed the table and said, “Preposterous! A moment ago, we established that the testimony of kin cannot be used as evidence, but we are somehow going to listen to their testimonies now? They’re all from the Plum Blossom Sect! There was no way they would dare to openly defy Mei Chaofeng in public!”

Mei Chaofeng smiled calmly and replied, “We have concrete evidence, aside from eyewitnesses. There’s also a clear motive for Zu An to be behind the murder. Are you going to claim that all of this is a coincidence? Brightmoon Duke, you can’t be thinking of condoning a criminal just because he’s your son-in-law, can you?”

Chu Zhongtian erupted. “Who do you think you are? How dare you speak to me in such a manner!” he roared at Mei Chaofeng.

He was usually a mild-tempered man, but the events of the last two days had strained his patience to its limit. On top of that, he had never liked the Plum Blossom Sect because of what they were up to in the city. Mei Chaofeng’s smugness was truly the last straw.

Mei Chaofeng immediately felt a tremendous force sweeping toward him, and he faltered in utter terror. Even though he was a fifth rank cultivator, he found himself on the verge of collapsing to the ground out of fright.

Sang Hong was immediately on his feet, deflecting the tremendous aura that was directed towards Mei Chaofeng. “Brightmoon Duke, calm down! It’s beneath your standing to lash out at a civilian like this!” he reasoned with Chu Zhongtian.

Even though it looked like Sang Hong was advising Chu Zhongtian out of goodwill, he was actually warning the latter not to mess around.

Xie Yi also stood up to mediate as well, leaving Chu Zhongtian with no choice but to step back from the time being.

Even so, Mei Chaofeng’s face remained white as a sheet. It wasn’t that easy to recover from the intimidating hostility coming from an eighth rank cultivator, and Mei Chaofeng found himself unable to speak for the moment.

Zu An took this time to think the matter through before remarking, “How intriguing. Based on what you’ve mentioned, I paid a visit to Yang Wei’s house to assassinate him before sneaking into the Plum Blossom Sect to kill Plum Blossom Thirteen. Wow, I never knew that I was such a busy man.”

“There’s nothing a vile man like you is incapable of!” Mei Chaofeng finally managed to calm his nerves enough to rebut Zu An. “Besides, weren’t you cleared of the suspicion of killing Lord Yang earlier? That gives you more than enough time to pull off a kill on Plum Blossom Thirteen!”

“I see. So you’re acknowledging that I’m not the culprit behind Yang Wei’s death as well. Got it. As for your argument that I have more than enough time, I’m afraid that you’re sorely mistaken.” Zu An’s tone suddenly changed at this point. “I was engaged in the hard work of trying to produce offspring for the Chu clan together with my wife last night. Where could I find the time to kill Plum Blossom Thirteen?

“Don’t you know how tough it is for me to marry such a beautiful wife? Every day, I wake up praying that the sun would set earlier, so that my wife and I can get some private time together. What kind of a man would I be if I leave behind my beloved wife at home to handle other matters?”

Chu Zhongtian’s jaw dropped almost to the floor.

He was utterly dumbfounded. Of course, he knew that Zu An was spouting rubbish, since he was aware that his daughter and son-in-law were still currently sleeping in separate rooms. However, how could he say such a thing aloud? Wouldn’t that be placing Zu An in danger?

But at the same time, those words had practically tarnished his daughter’s reputation… 

Oh wait, they’re a married couple. It’s not a big deal for them to be sleeping together, right…?

Even so, it was incredibly weird for Chu Zhongtian to hear his son-in-law talking about his lovey-dovey affairs with his daughter, especially in public… 

The crowd broke out in a tremendous uproar. Zu An might not have gone into detail, but a human being’s vivid imagination was a powerful tool that could easily fill in any gaps in information. The thought of the beautiful Chu Chuyan being ruined at the hands of a swine named Zu An made all of them turn green with envy.

You have successfully trolled Yang Shanwei for 233 Rage points!

You have successfully trolled Xiao Qun for 233 Rage points!

… 

“Rubbish!” an infuriated howl sounded from the crowd.

Everyone turned to look. Shi Kun was glaring at Zu An with reddened eyes.

You have successfully trolled Shi Kun for 999 Rage points!

Even though Shi Kun knew that Zu An was lying, he still couldn’t restrain the anger boiling within him. The problem wasn’t whether he knew Zu An was lying or not—it was whether the crowd knew! At this rate, by the time he finally married Chu Chuyan, everyone would think that he was picking up a second-hand good from Zu An!

There was no way he could accept something like that!

“You have never consummated your marriage with Chu First Miss, so why are you bragging about it?” roared Shi Kun.

Zu An glanced at Shi Kun before remarking leisurely, “Why are you getting so agitated? You can’t be coveting my wife here, can you? Tsk tsk tsk, is this how the Shi clan raises its offspring? Haaa~”

Shi Kun’s rage-o-meter immediately struck the limit. 

Bring me my fucking sword!

You have successfully trolled Shi Kun for 468 Rage points!

Behind him, Snow quietly tugged his sleeves and reminded him softly, “Young master, you need to hold it in, or else our plans will be compromised.”

Shi Kun took in a deep breath and slowly calmed down. 

That’s right, Zu An is already done for after this. I should wait for the verdict to be passed before slowly settling the scores with him.

Zu An looked at Snow in surprise. 

Oh? It looks like she didn’t reveal my secret, or else Shit Kun wouldn’t have been so angry. Why is she concealing it for me?

Ah. Did she fall for me unknowingly?

Noticing Zu An’s stare, Snow returned a sharp glare of her own. 

No wonder the young master is so infuriated. Even I can’t help but want to pummel him every time I see his face!

You have successfully trolled Qiao Xueying for 520 Rage points!

Zu An was amused by the number. 

Oh hoh! Despite her refusal, it looks like her feelings are much more honest!

[1]

Seeing how Shi Kun was getting riled up, Mei Chaofeng quickly leaped in and said, “The testimony of kin cannot be taken as evidence. Besides, Zu An’s words are false. Just ask anyone in the Chu clan—all of them know that he and Chu First Miss have been sleeping in separate rooms, so how could she testify on his behalf? Look! Despite the important occasion, Chu First Miss is nowhere to be seen at all. This should be more than enough to prove what their relationship as a couple is like!”

“Who says that I’m not here?” a crisp, euphonious voice suddenly came from behind the crowd.

Those in the crowd quickly turned around, and were greeted by the sight of a beautiful woman dressed in blue slowly gliding over like a fairy from heaven.

“So this is Chu First Miss~”

“She’s as ravishing as the rumors put her out to be!”

“If I had a wife like her, I would never get up from my bed anymore!”

“Yeah! Who would waste a precious night with such a beauty to go kill a person instead? Only a fool would do that!”

… 

The remarks coming from the crowd amazed Zu An. Despite all of the arguments he had made, it seemed nothing was more convincing than Chu Chuyan’s appearance.

Chu Chuyan walked into the court and said, “There’s no need to investigate this anymore. He was sleeping with me last night.”

Those words sent out huge waves right away. Chu Zhongtian widened his eyes. Sang Hong choked on the cup of tea he was sipping on. Even Xie Yi was too shocked to slam the wooden block to demand order in the court.

“What?!” Shi Kun turned to Snow, his face twisted with unfettered rage. “Didn’t you tell me that there’s no way they would get together with one another?”

Snow was equally confused. Could there have been a huge advancement in the relationship between Chu Chuyan and Zu An in the last few days? But that was impossible!

Even Zu An was in no mood to stare at the massive influx of Rage points falling into his piggy bank. He, too, was staring at Chu Chuyan with his mouth agape. The last thing he had expected was for her to stand up for him in this manner before such a huge crowd.

Even though the two of them were married, rumors that they were sleeping in separate rooms abounded. Because of this, she still remained the lofty, pure fairy in everyone’s eyes.

However, her blatant admission that she had slept with Zu An would break even the most persistent delusions of the most tenacious of fanboys that she was somehow still chaste. 

She was actually willing to sacrifice her own reputation for me.

Zu An was moved by this gesture. It turned out that Chu Chuyan had a warm heart under her cold exterior. 

Yup, I should do my best in the future to help her warm up her body as well.

“Ahem ahem!” Xie Yi finally snapped out of his shock. He slammed the wooden brick on the table and demanded order. “Chu First Miss, the court is not a place for lies. Are you certain about what you have just said?”

“Naturally.” Chu Chuyan stood calmly at the center of the room as a light breeze tugged gently at the hem of her dress. The crowd was slowly falling under the spell of her ethereal beauty. “Also, I’ve brought in a new eyewitness.”

“A new eyewitness?” 

Not just Chu Zhongtian, but even Shi Kun and the others were confused. They couldn’t imagine how the tables could be turned, especially given the mountain of evidence they had thoroughly prepared to incriminate Zu An with.

“Bring in the eyewitness!” ordered Xie Yi.

Chu Chuyan nodded, and the guards of the Chu clan quickly escorted someone in. Mei Chaofeng had somehow regained his confidence, but when he saw the eyewitness Chu Chyan had brought, his composure shattered right away.